Chancellor Rachel Reeves launched a new campaign at the London Stock Exchange this week to get more people investing called “Invest for the Future”.
It’s the first coordinated industry-wide effort to drive a step change in how investing is understood, discussed and adopted. The campaign has its own website (takethenextstepinvest.co.uk) and a mascot, “Savvy” the squirrel. (We’re not joking).
The campaign will run across television, newspapers and online and is backed by 20 UK-based financial services firms, including Hargreaves Lansdown, Barclays, NatWest, Aviva, Vanguard, Schroders and St James’s Place – and supported by HM Treasury, the FCA and the Money and Pensions Service. The campaign is intended to run over multiple years.
The website guides visitors through four stages: why they should invest, whether to save or invest, how to navigate the options, and where to actually start. At the end, there’s a “find a partner” section that directs users to the firms backing the campaign.
Why the need for a campaign?
British people are, by international standards, good at saving and pretty bad at investing – which is a problem for the government. This is because the government not only wants people to grow their wealth and not lose money to inflation – but also because it wants to increase investment into UK markets to fund its growth agenda.
The government has already announced a reduction in the amount we can save in a Cash ISA from April 2027, dropping the allowance from £20,000 to £12,000 (for those under age 65) – while keeping the Stocks & Shares ISA limit at £20,000 – in the hope that this may encourage some savers to become investors.
Is it missing the point?
Firstly, is this campaign late? Surely this would have landed better if it had been launched in the run-up to the beginning of the new tax year, just as people are picking the right Cash ISA for them?
Also, there’s no focus or direction towards women – but with 10 million men already investing versus 6.7 million women and a £678 billion total gender investment gap – is this not worth even a hint of a mention? Leading with a “get started” message hardly acknowledges the reality of why so many women don’t invest. (boringmoney.co.uk)
Whilst government-supported, ultimately this campaign was built by the industry, for the industry.
Not all customers and individuals are the same and so to lump a handful of brand logos at the bottom of the website doesn’t really help a customer – who is likely to be new to investment – navigate which brand or offering is right for them. Some of the brands offer complex investment solutions, some offer notoriously high fees, some just genuinely give us the “ick” – a newbie to investing wouldn’t necessarily know this.
What would help more than a squirrel?
If the government genuinely wants more people investing, it needs to put the customer first, not just put together an industry-focussed “explainer” campaign.
We need to see real people – increased visibility of everyday investors, sharing their goals, sharing their stories, sharing their worries and apprehension. If the government especially wants to target new-to-investing consumers – it needs to put the personal back into personal finance – not some financial “love-in” where the big financial services brands can pat each other on the back.
As always, this is financial education, not financial advice. Investing involves risk, including the potential to lose money. Make sure any decision is right for your circumstances.